Disclaimer: The story and characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi, and probably Pioneer and a number of other companies. The point is, none of it belongs to me! I am writing this story for my own enjoyment (and hopefully yours!) and not profit.

A/N: This story is a sequel to One Moment of Comfort. If you haven't read that story yet, I suggest you do before going any further. Thanks to the promptings of kind reviewers I have decided to continue this story. Please let me know what you think!

One Moment of Comfort Part II

-1-

Two days later…

Kagome struggled to wake up even as the sunlight poured into her eyes. Scrunching her eyelids tighter together, she turned on her side and stifled a moan at the pain in her body. She felt completely drained, her muscles lethargic. If not for the sharp pain in her abdomen, she would have gladly sank back down into the oblivion of sleep. As it was, nature called, and she struggled to rise to her knees enough to slip on her coat before tip-toeing into the surrounding trees. Though winter was still some time off, the early morning air felt cool after the warmth of her sleeping bag. Glancing up at Inuyasha's tree, Kagome pulled her jacket tighter around her, as if mere fabric could provide some sort of emotional armor.

Her business taken care of, she slipped back into the campsite and quietly put the water on to boil for tea, then grabbed her clothes to change. Had she been at home, she would have much preferred staying in her comfy pajamas. However, as she was still out and about on the road, she made herself go through the motions of her day, changing into her school uniform, and, for the first time that she could remember in a long time, wishing that her skirt were longer. Being around both Inuyasha and Miroku made her feel more exposed lately in her normal skirt, something she was not comfortable with and not sure how to handle.

Packing her stuff, she was ready to go before the water boiled. Normally she took longer to get ready for the day, but now she tried to stay constantly busy to avoid thinking. The only upside of this situation was that she and Shippo had grown much closer. She had found the kit to be a great source of distraction, with his constant chatter and desire for attention. With her mind and hands somewhat busy, she could avoid thinking about the pain from Inuyasha's rejection, and manage to never look Miroku in the eye.

Miroku… she just wasn't quite sure what to do with him. Neither had mentioned the night they slept together, and the only conversation they had was about setting up the camp at night, or speculation over the final battle with Naraku. Her world felt so full of pain and confusion at the moment, that Naraku didn't seem like such a big deal. Most days she had a hard time making herself care about destroying him with the same intensity that she had felt in the past. It was as if her emotions had all they could handle at the moment, and couldn't take on any more.

In the back of her mind she knew this wasn't a healthy attitude. After all, one did not treat the central threat to the existence of mankind as a bump on a log. Normally a little tinge of fear was necessary and even healthy to remain alive. At this point in time, however, death didn't scare her. She almost welcomed it as a source of relief.

"Hey, Kagome! Are you ok?" Shippo's bright tones, laced with concern, broke through her stupor. Plastering on a smile, Kagome quickly told him that she just wasn't awake yet. Either her fake smiles had gotten better or Shippo was distracted, but either way she was thankful when he nodded and pounced on his cup of ramen for breakfast. She managed a small smile for the kitsune's enthusiasm, and consciously tried to turn her mind to what the little fox was saying. By now, everyone else was awake and eating breakfast, and Kagome noticed the change in the feel in the camp. Sango was joyful with thoughts of her upcoming wedding, convinced, despite anything Kagome had ever said, that Miroku had never loved her. Inuyasha was distracted with thoughts of Kikyo, but wasn't a big enough idiot not to feel guilty that Kagome had had her heartbroken. Miroku… well, the feeling coming from Miroku and Kagome was tense. All in all, the air was so thick in the camp that eventually Shippo stopped talking and everyone prepared to leave in silence.

As the group traveled that day, Kagome couldn't help but have her eyes drawn to Miroku. Inuyasha was leading the group, anxious to track down the injured Naraku, Sango was scouting the area with Kilala, and Miroku walked just behind Inuyasha. Normally Kagome would be in the middle for safety's sake, but the issue was never brought up after a significant glance between the monk and kitsune, who never left Kagome's shoulder. This thankfully gave Kagome something to focus on as the cub chattered away, but Miroku wasn't so lucky. He was bombarded with a host of confusing feelings: heartache over Sango's marriage, a mixture of guilt and pleasure over his night with Kagome, and a slight tinge of fear over what Inuyasha would do if he ever found out. He may be planning on spending the rest of his life with Kikyo, but that didn't mean the half demon didn't have a protective streak a mile wide for the woman who had stood by his side for the past three years. Anytime Miroku would start to convince himself otherwise, Inuyasha would glance back to check on Kagome, reminding Miroku that the girl was never far from Inuyasha's thoughts.

With this maelstrom of emotions going through his heart, Miroku was worried. Focus was difficult to achieve, and almost impossible to sustain. He knew he should be using his spiritual sensitivity to sense out Naraku's evil, but the task was beyond him. He was beginning to doubt that, even with an injured Naraku, that they would be able to beat him. Everyone was too distracted.

Oddly enough, however, through all of this, there was something that put a little bounce in his step, something that kept him from sitting down and admitting defeat. He was unwilling to analyze what that something was, but he felt it grow when he heard a soft laugh coming from behind him, or when he happened to catch sight of a green skirt out of the corner of his eye. At such times he couldn't help but think about Kagome's soft skin glowing in the moonlight, or the comfort he found when he wrapped himself up in her. Swiftly on the heels of such feelings, however, would come a redoubling of confusion and anxiety as he pondered his current predicament. If Naraku came on him alone, he would be a sitting duck.

Just then something flat and purple went flying across his vision straight towards Kagome. The group had stopped mid-day at a quiet stream for lunch, and Kagome was bent over washing their lunch dishes with Sango.

"Look out!" Inuyasha yelled, even as he dove for the girls, knocking them into the stream. Miroku surged to his feet, staff in hand, and looked to where the flying object came from. There, moving slowly out of the shadow of some trees, moved three strange creatures. Their hides were yellow and scaly, and they seemed to float more than walk across the ground in sinuous waves.

Miroku held his staff horizontally in front of himself as he prepared to fight. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"Ssss. We want the jewel shardssss," the creature on the left hissed.

"And the women," the creature on the right added. His gaze was glued to the girls who were helping each other out of the water. Both Kagome's and Sango's hair was plastered to their faces, and Kagome's clothing in particular did not hold up well to the wet assault. Miroku had to tear his gaze away from the practically translucent shirt clinging to Kagome's skin.

Inuyasha wasted no time jumping in front of the group as he slid the Tessaiga out of its sheath. "Feh, not a chance," Inuyasha declared. "I'll split your scaly hides before you can even blink."

"I think not. Ssss." The creature turned its head towards its companions. "Get them!"

A/N: So, what do you guys think? Should I keep going?